- Categories: ISLAMIC HISTORY, MONEY- Commercial
- Language: ENGLISH
Patricia Crone’s book Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Oxford, 1987 grabbed my attention, because it tackled an era connected with “The History of the Arabs before Islam”, a course I am teaching to female students at the Department of History, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah.
It is noteworthy that when I started reading through this book, I was really shocked by what I read between the lines and even overtly. What shocked me is that some things were clear, but others were grossly incorrect and
hidden behind a mask of fake historical research, the purposes of which are obvious for every professional
researcher. Therefore, as a scholar in the field, it was necessary for me to respond to this book so that readers
will not be deceived and misguided by the great errors introduced to them under the guise of historical research
or scholarship.
Crone is an orientalist who raised somewhat clever questions, but her answers were misleading. Most of the time, she deliberately used documented and logical coordination in order to prove the opposite of what has already been proven to be correct. It is a well-known fact that the easiest way to pass an illogical issue and to make readers swallow it is to begin by an assumption which looks logical and persuasive, but is in fact essentially void. Then from this false assumption, you jump to a set of conclusions in order to make your case logical and acceptable.
